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Reset the Netgear Nighthawk AX12 RAX120

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Setup Router Staff
Last Updated: | Reading Time: 4 minutes

This guide shows you how to reset your Netgear Nighthawk AX12 RAX120 router to factory default settings. Resetting a router is different than rebooting a router. Turning a router off and back on again causes a reboot. A Router Reset completely erases the router and returns it to factory settings.

Warning: This is not a step to be taken lightly. When you reset your router, the following will happen.

  • The router's login and password are reset.
  • Your WiFi login, password, and network name are reset.
  • Your ISP username and password will be reset, and you may have to contact your ISP.
  • Any firewall settings, parental controls, or port forwards that you have configured will be removed.

A router reset is the last step you should take in recovering your router's password. Before you reset your router, you may want to try recovering your router password with our Router Password Finder.

Other Netgear Nighthawk AX12 RAX120 Guides

Use a VPN Instead

Have you considered using a VPN instead of forwarding a port? For most users, a VPN is a much simpler and more secure choice than forwarding a port.

We use and recommend NordVPN because not only is it the fastest VPN, it includes a new feature called Meshnet that makes forwarding a port no longer necessary for most applications. With NordVPN Meshnet, you can connect to your devices from anywhere in the world, completely secure, over a highly encrypted VPN tunnel.

When shopping for a VPN, make sure that they meet the following criteria:

  • Your VPN provider should have a no-logs policy. This means that they do not keep any logs of any kind.
  • Make sure that your VPN provider has lots of exit nodes all around the world.
  • Check that your VPN will not affect your speed.
  • Verify that your VPN provider uses WireGuard as the underlying protocol.
  • Many people prefer a VPN provider that is not based in the United States.

This is the list of requirements that we used when we were shopping around for a VPN provider. There are lots of free, shady VPN providers out there that we looked at and dismissed.

Based in Panama, using diskless servers, and with over 6,100 servers in 61 countries, we can safely say that NordVPN satisfies all of these requirements.

NordVPN is the fastest VPN!

Once you've set up your NordVPN account on multiple computers and enabled Meshnet, you can seamlessly access all of your devices as if they were on the same network. You don't even have to log in to your router. It's very simple.

Every time you click on one of our affiliate links, such as NordVPN, we get a little kickback for introducing you to the service. Think of us as your VPN wingman.

This is the reset router guide for the Netgear Nighthawk AX12 RAX120 v1.2.8.40. We also have the following guides for the same router:

Recover Password in Netgear Nighthawk AX12 RAX120

Instead of resetting your router back to factory settings, you may want to try running our Router Password Finder first.

Router Password Finder can save you a ton of time by recovering your lost or forgotten router password instead of doing a full router reset.

Router Password Finder - Recover Lost or Forgotten Router Passwords

Do not do a full router reset until after you have tried every other option to log in to your router.

Reset the Netgear Nighthawk AX12 RAX120

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You can usually find a small reset button on either the back or the bottom of a router. What you are looking for is something that looks like this:

Router Reset Button

Yours may look slightly different, but they are usually tiny. If you find a pinhole on the back of the router then that may be the reset button. You will need a paper clip to push it.

Watch the lights on the front of your router and hold the reset button down for about 10 seconds. After a few seconds the lights should blink differently. When this happens, the reset is complete. It is harmless to hold the reset button too long.

Remember, this will erase everything you have previously done to this Netgear Nighthawk AX12 RAX120 router.

Only take this last step of fully resetting your router after you have exhausted all other troubleshooting options, such as running our Router Password Finder software, which can recover a lost router password for you.

Login to the Netgear Nighthawk AX12 RAX120

Now that you have finished resetting your router, you need to log in using the default username and password from the factory. Our Nighthawk AX12 RAX120 Login Guide has all of the information that you need.

Change Your Password

You need to change your router's default password after you log in for the first time. It's a very bad idea to leave your router's password set to the factory default. You can follow our Choosing a Strong Password guide to help you pick a solid password for your router.

Tip: Put your new password on a post-in note and stick it to the bottom of your router.

Other Netgear Nighthawk AX12 RAX120 Guides

This isn't our only Netgear Nighthawk AX12 RAX120 guide. We also have the following guides for this router.

This is the reset router guide for the Netgear Nighthawk AX12 RAX120 v1.2.8.40. We also have the following guides for the same router: